Tumbler cylinder drive and support structure



Feb. 21, 1950 A. L. REITE R 2,498,181

TUIIBIER CYLINDER DRIVE AND SUPPORT STRUCTURE Filed larch as, 1946 2Shuts-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ALEXANDER L. REITER ATTORNEY Feb. 21, 1950 RE T2,498,181

TUIBLER CYLINDER DRIVE AND SUPPORT STRUCTURE Filed March 28, 1946 2Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR. ALEXAADERL'. RE/TB? Arrow/Er Patented Feb.21, 1950 TUMBLERCYLINDER DRIVE AND SUPPORT STRUCTURE Alexander L.Reiter, South Bend, Ind., assignor to Bendix Home Appliances, Inc.,South Bend, Ind., a corporation of Delaware Application March 28, 1946,Serial No. 657,717

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to driving and support structure for tumbler typeclothes dryer or other device using a cylinder mounted for rotation on asubstantially horizontal axis.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide means forsupporting and for driving a dryer cylinder from the front thereofthrough a belt drive around the tubular extension of the cylinder whichalso forms the access opening into the cylinder and to so arrange suchdrive that the cylinder is supported on rollers through the belt thebelt running over the supporting rollers under the tubular extensionmember between said member and the rollers.

The above and other objects of the invention will be apparent onconsideration of the following more detailed description and byreference to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof andwherein.

Figure 1 is a front view of the assembled dryer showing the drivemechanism and the opening for receiving the clothes, the front panel ofthe machine being removed.

Figure 2 is a side view partly in section showing the several parts ofthe dryer including the driving and support mechanism.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1 and shows the sectionthrough the support roller, the belt and tubular extension member of thecylinder.

Referring to the drawings, a base supports a sheet metal rear supportingpanel II and a front supporting and dividing panel l2 spaced as shown inFigure 2. The front panel [2 has a circular opening 13 provided thereinand the rear panel H supports a bearing l4. The cylindrical shapedcasing I5 is formed in the shape of a flanged tube and its flanges aresecured to the inside faces of the rear panel I I and the front panel l2respectively. A rotatable clothes containing cylinder H has a diameterslightly less than the cylindrical shaped casing l5 and is of a lengthslightly less than the distance between the front panel l2 and the rearpanel H. A short shaft I8 is secured to the back wall of the rotatablecylinder l1 and this shaft is supported in a bearing I4. The clothescylinder H, as more completely described in co-pending applicationSerial Number 649,011, filed February 20, 1946, has an annular frontwall l9 made 'up of relatively large mesh screen, the screen beingsupported on a plurality of radially extending spokes. These spokes havetheir outer ends secured to the circumference of the cylinder and havetheir inner ends secured to a tubular ex- I tension member 2| which isof such length belt 28.

and shape, as shown in Figure 2 as to extend through the opening l3 inthe panel l2. The panel l2, as shown in Figure 1, has roller members 22and 23 secured thereto in such position that the tubular member 2| andthe cylinder I! are supported for rotation in a manner described laterin more detail, this front support being in addition to the rear supportbearing l4 on the rear panel H.

The general arrangement of the dryer as regards the position of theclothes cylinder and air circulating duct is similar to that shown inthe aforementioned co-pending application, Serial No. 649,011. For thepurpose of circulating air a blower housing 32 which carries a blowerimpeller 3| is supported on the front panel l2 and exhausts into an aircirculating duct 33 also carried on the front panel which circulates airover a heating element 34. An inlet into the duct from the front of theannular shaped wall 19 through the panel 12 is provided which inletopens into the center of the impeller 3|, the inlet being shown at 35 inFigure 2. The outlet from the duct into the machine is back of theheating element 34 shown in Figure 1. The machine is enclosed by panels42, 43 and 46 and a clothes door opening 41 is provided in the front ofthe machine in which a glass section 49 is included so that the tumblingof the clothes may be ob served. The clothes door is mounted in atubular portion 48 so that a means is provided to remove the clothesfrom the dryer through the tubular portion 48 and the tubular member 21which is attached to the drum.

The tubular member 2| serves as a pulleyfor driving the cylinder l1 andserves as well for a central access opening for loading wet clothes intothe dryer and to remove the clothes therefrom after drying. A motor 24provides power for rotation of the cylinder I! through a belt 25 whichdrives a large pulley 26 which rotates a smaller pulley 21. The pulley21 carries a belt 28 which extends around the tubular member 2| and alsoextends between each of the roller members 22 and 23 and the tubularmember 2|. The weight of the cylinder is supported on the rollers 22 and23 through the belt 28.

As shown in Figure 3 the shape of the rollers 22 and 23 is such that thebelt 28 will contact a flat surface thereon and assure a supporting ofthe load of the tubular member 21 through the It is apparent that theprovision of a. belt between the supporting rollers and the tubularmember assures a relatively large arc of frictional contact on thetubular member and also eliminates the necessity for providing separatecontact areas on the tubular member for both the rollers and the belt.Furthermore, the depth of cabinet required to assemble a complete unitis reduced by this arrangement since the supporting rollers and the beltcan be in the same plane.

Although the invention has been described by reference to a specificstructure found practical in actual operation it is intended thatvarious modifications may be made within the scope of the followingclaim.

I claim:

In a machine of the character described having a. rotatable clothescontaining cylinder mounted for rotation on a substantially horizontalaxis, a tubular member forming a central front opening concentric withthe axis of rotation of said cylinder and extending outwardly from saidcylinder, a driving motor, a belt driving from said motor extendingaround said tubular member for rotating said cylinder by contact withthe outer surface of said tubular member, a pair of rollers contactingsaid belt and positioned below said tubular member in position to effecta support of said tubular member and said cylinder through said belt.

' ALEXANDER L. REII'ER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,289,162 Amonsen July '7, 19422,354,567 Adt July 25, 1944 2,414,154 Leer Jan. 14, 1947

